Manchester United have made the decision to stick with Michael Carrick despite a dismal start to the season and former Red Devils star Gary Neville has now issued his response

Gary Neville has admitted his surprise at Manchester United deciding to give Michael Carrick a stay of execution. The former midfielder was under huge pressure following Sunday’s heavy defeat to Bournemouth.

United chiefs held crisis talks on Monday at Carrington, with a decision only coming on Tuesday. As it stands, the Red Devils are set to stick with Carrick and give him a chance to stop the rot.

And Neville has now spoken out on that call. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I’m happy. I’m surprised, but I’m happy because I was absolutely certain that what I witnessed on Sunday would be the end of Michael.

“It looked like it when he was walking around on his own with the players behind him like it was almost like a goodbye lap. He was waving to the fans almost in like an apologetic manner but also a goodbye.

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“So I’m surprised that ultimately Michael is still in a job and I’m happy with it because the fact of the matter, it was very difficult on Sunday. How it’s going to go over the next couple of weeks, I have no idea.

“But I hope he can get somehow he can get those players playing for him again because they’ve not been playing for him for the past few weeks.”

Neville’s comments come just days after he claimed that Carrick was sure to be moved on, while he also took aim at United’s hierarchy for their part in the club’s woes.

Speaking at the time, he said: "Michael Carrick, they're probably going to sack him in the next two hours, 12 hours, 24 hours. The rumours coming out on Thursday or Friday were that Wilcox and [Christopher] Vivell are torn over whether it'll be Eddie Howe or Julian Nagelsmann and they've spoken to these two managers.

"So Michael Carrick's a dead man walking already. He's coming into his press conference on Friday, doing a five-minute monologue, which is effectively just the club history, the players who've played for the club, the managers who have represented the club. That's the end."

Carrick’s first chance to turn the tide comes this weekend with United set to take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. That is followed by a Champions League showdown with Roma and a testing fixture with Aston Villa ahead of the second international break of the season.